A Kiss and a Lullaby
by CocoGirl
Summary: Italy catches a cold, but when normally Romano catches it immediately after, he feels nothing. In fact, he's slowly losing his senses such as his taste and touch... What's going on? Paring: Spamano. Warning: Some angst? Character death ?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

He didn't remember anything about the dream he had that night.

He wasn't even sure if the dream was a pleasant or an unfortunate one. That's why when Romano woke up with a tear rolling down his cheek, he tilted his head in confusion. But since Romano- No, not only Romano, but his brother Veneziano as well – easily cried all the time, Romano wasn't too worried about it. He wasn't sure what caused it, but it shouldn't have had to matter too much anyway.

Pushing himself up, he glanced to the alarm clock at the side table to check the time, blinking at how the longer hand pointed almost 20 minutes ahead of his usual wake-up calls. He felt proud for feeling fully awake despite that fact, not even bothering to feel as if he wasted the time in waking up by not taking the extra few minutes to keep sleeping. Romano was not a late sleeper like his brother to begin with, but was certainly not an early bird either. However, for the past few days he have been able to sleep only a few hours and have no affect on it the next day. Feeling as if he was finally getting the hang of waking up early and actually getting things done, Romano felt a small smile of satisfaction come to his face. Spain wouldn't be able to tell him to wake up early to go to work anymore. He could tell the Spaniard that he was able to do it all on his own.

Romano's habit of sleeping in was one he had since he was a little kid, and Romano himself was starting to think it was some sort of illness he carried. The warm blanket that covered his body was like the demon, and Spain, the one who had to get Romano out of the bed in the morning, was like a hero with legendary sword. But even with the legendary sword, Spain wasn't able to rescue Romano out of the blankets. And since even Spain couldn't rescue him to begin with, Romano figured he couldn't do it on his own anyway, so being able to wake up without any problems for the past few days made him feel overly proud of himself.

The blue sky without a single cloud looked beautiful, and it seemed to tell that the day was going to be a great one. Romano stared out the window in silence until he felt his eyes begin to blind, in which made him finally kneel down next to his dresser and begin to pick out his clothes. He put them on without effort and flinched as the cold fabric touched his skin, knowing it would warm up quickly enough with his body heat. By the time he opened the door to his room and entered the hallway, the shirt was the same temperature as its owner's body.

The house Romano and Veneziano lived in wasn't big at all. Veneziano didn't wish to clean a large house, and Romano couldn't clean at all anyway. If there were more rooms, that would be more places that needed to be cleaned. To avoid their childhood jobs as much as possible, Romano had a single room, Veneziano another, and then there was a small guest room near both rooms. Of course they also had the living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom, but not much else. At the end of the hallway was a small picture hung up on the wall; a picture of a man, with two little brunette children with their signature curls already shown growing from their heads.

The older brother of the Italians peeked into the living room to check the time and turned the knob to the door that led to the other Italian's room. As he opened it, he sighed when silence filled the room.

"From tomorrow, I have to go to the meeting area before lunch and talk with Germany and Japan for the next week. So I have to be up by 8 in the morning!"

Romano remembered Veneziano telling him that the night before. He must've certainly set the alarm to wake up on his own, but by the looks of it, it seemed as if the younger male turned the alarm off after it went off and traveled back to dreamland. Romano stood by the bed and stared down to the sleeping mount on the bed and rolled his eyes.

"…Veneziano, it's morning!" Grabbing the corners of the blanket, Romano said the words and pulled them off the figure in a flash. He awaited for his brother's voice of complaints or surprise, but when he didn't hear any, he blinked in confusion and peeked from behind the blanket.

What he saw was his little brother's face, bright red, and heavy breaths coming from the younger. Romano tilted his head and scowled deeply.

"Fratello~… I'm feeling hot~…"

"Woah! Your face is red! What's wrong?"

"I don't know~…"

Veneziano whimpered like a hurt puppy and curled up on the mattress. Romano moved the bangs that stuck on his brother's forehead and flinched at the high temperature, immediately pulling his hand away and placing the blanket back on the shaking body.

"Did you catch a cold?" He asked. As the northern half of Italy pushed his head out from under the blanket, he moaned softly.

"I don't know…" He muttered back, closing his eyes as if it was too hard to keep them opened, "But I haven't been feeling really good for the past few days…"

It was true. Romano remembered Veneziano complaining about a headache or a stomachache for almost a week, but also remembered that it never showed up physically for the others to see it apparently like this before. "I'll go get a thermometer, so you try to go back to sleep."

"But I have to go to the meeting…"

"I don't think I can let you go like this…" Romano patted his hand on Veneziano's covered body. "Besides, I'm also 'Italy'. I'll go to the meeting instead."

Veneziano opened his eyes slightly to look up at Romano doubtfully, but when Romano didn't move his gaze away, determined, the younger half smiled contently. Feeling the appreciation come from his younger brother, Romano shifted uncomfortably in place before he stomped out the room, snorting once in hopes to give it as a reply of "You're welcome".

Romano grabbed a towel and a thermometer from the living room and placed the towel in cold water. The water covered his hands, but somehow Romano didn't notice it being cold at first. Blinking curiously, he shrugged it off his mind for now. He then squeezed the excess water out of the towel before he carried it back to Veneziano's room.

Moving away the bangs that once more found its way in sticking against Veneziano's forehead, Romano placed the towel down on the younger Italian's head. Veneziano squinted his eyes at first and muttered a small "Cold!" before sighing in comfort.

"Can you eat?"

Veneziano shook his head at the question. Romano figured he could cut up some fruits and got ready to left once more, but stopped when he felt the weak fingers grab at his sleeve. "I should be fine if I stay asleep… So please, go to the meeting."

Shifting his gaze to the alarm clock as if to say "You're late", Veneziano muttered quietly. It was true… Romano had to leave soon, or he won't be able to make it in time. He wanted to stay back and try to help his younger brother recover, but couldn't do so. As a nation, he had to do his duties as so first. So he nodded once and headed off to the kitchen. Grabbing the water bottle from inside the fridge, he carried it back to Veneziano's room and placed it on the side table.

"I'll put the water here."

"Grazie…"

"Stay in bed while I'm out."

"Si~…"

Sighing out his answer, Veneziano closed his eyes again as Romano pressed the towel on his forehead slightly and left the room. He grabbed a striped jacket and put it on, and grabbed a scarf. For a moment he went into thought, wondering if he really needed it. Right now, the weather outside was warm. But as the day goes on, Romano had no doubts about it getting cold. He wasn't sure if the meeting was going to take until nightfall or if it only lasted long enough for them to drink a cup of tea, but he figured if he had one it wouldn't hurt. Wrapping it around his neck, he pushed his nose against the fabric and sighed softly. As he sniffed once, he noticed the smell he found himself to love.

It wasn't really a sweet scent as much as it was a simple scent of laundry dried in the sun. The familiar scent Romano immediately recognized as was Spain's.

As he took in another wave of scent from the scarf, he remembered the event that happened several weeks ago. He remembered it clearly like it was yesterday. Romano quietly chased after the memories as he continued rushing around the house in attempts to get ready to leave for the meeting.

Several weeks ago, Romano and Spain were meeting each other. Unlike the years they used to spend together, they were unable to see each other as often as they wished, and to that fact Spain honestly said he was feeling lonely, and though Romano didn't say anything back, he felt the same way as well. But because of that fact, when they did meet, Romano and Spain were several times happier than usual and spent all the time they could staying by each others' sides. Romano was certain he wasn't the only one who didn't want to leave his lover's side when they had a short moment to get together.

On the day Spain and Romano managed to meet together, it was already midnight when it happened. Romano was stuck in a mountain of paperwork that he was certain to finish by the time they set up to meet each other, but the paper towers only kept building up as the hours passed, and even after 4 hours passed after their promised time, Romano couldn't see the end to the job. He didn't have time to even check his cellphone, and just continued typing on the keyboard and scanning his eyes through the words on the documents. The clock's hands just sped up each passing moment. By the time Romano finally finished and left the office, the place was so quiet that it gave Romano the creeps.

He grabbed a taxi that waited at the curve of the road and instructed the driver to make its way to the airport, where Spain and Romano had promised to meet. Annoyed by the speed that the seemingly slow taxi drove at, Romano spread his arms on the back of the seat and sighed deeply. That was when the sudden need to sleep came to him, blacking out his world before he had a chance to text Spain saying he was making his way over now.

When Romano finally woke up, it was when the driver told Romano that they reached the airport. Getting the needed money from his wallet, Romano paid the driver and got off the cab, letting the cool wind ruffle his hair. He felt slightly more awake now that he had some sleep on the ride. When he saw that most of the lights were off in the building, a pang of worry suddenly hit him. He finally took out the phone that was in his pocket and opened it slowly. When the screen lit up, it showed he had 5 missed calls and 2 new text messages.

First, he checked the missed calls. There was one from Veneziano, but all the other were from Spain. Next, the text messages.

"I got here a bit early, but go ahead and take your time~ No need to rush~!" That was the first message, and Romano checked the time to see that it was sent 30 minutes before the time they were supposed to meet. During that, Romano was in the middle of drowning in papers.

The second message was sent when it was an hour passed their promised time. Romano opened it with hesitation, and a simple "Are you ok?" showed up on the screen. But with that simple message, Romano was able to pick up the worried feelings Spain must've felt for him when he sent it. The Italian exhaled his deep breath in attempts to calm himself… Or maybe, in a way to blame himself for making Spain wait.

Romano hurried his way into the airport. The meeting place was at the lobby, right in front of the entrance gate. The chairs provided were not one that they could call comfortable, but it was where Romano, if not, Spain, always sat and waited for the other to arrive. Strangely, despite seemingly countless hours after the meeting time, Romano had no doubt about Spain still being there, waiting for him. Perhaps if it wasn't the Spaniard, Romano could think of the possibility of the person being at a hotel, or a bar, or simply just exploring Italy in general by now, but with Spain, he had no such thoughts.

He will be sitting there, most likely. No, certainly.

When Romano arrived to the lobby, he saw a figure. The legs were sprawled out in front, the upper body bent slightly and the mouth wide open, a bit of drool making its way down slowly but certainly. At the sight, Romano felt a weird feeling that was caught in his throat suddenly release its pressure, making it easier for the Italian to breathe. He hurriedly made his way to Spain. At how the Spaniard seemed so contently asleep, Romano at first debated whether or not to awake him. But sleeping on these chairs couldn't possibly be good for later… It could give Spain the unwanted cramps… With that in mind to delete the debate that started in his head, Romano reached out and took Spain's shoulders in his hands and shook him gently.

"Spain, wake up."

"Mnn…"

"Wake up. You'll catch a cold if you stay asleep here."

Murmuring quietly to himself, Spain's eyelids opened and revealed the emerald hues. He blinked sleepily several times, trying to focus his blurry vision to see who woke him up. Romano shifted his gaze away guiltily when Spain did so. Just as he did, however, Spain suddenly widened his eyes in surprise. "Romano! You took a bit… Did something happen?"

Romano searched Spain's eyes for anger for being made to wait without any notification, but he couldn't find any. That only made Romano feel even more guilty. Several excuses came to his mind but were immediately shot down, and Romano could only lower his head and mutter a small, "I'm sorry."

"…Did you get caught up in work?"

Nodding to Spain's guess, Romano bit his lips, unable to stop feeling the guilt. It only made his eyes water, and he blinked, barely holding back what threatened to drip out. Spain stayed seated on the chair and looked up to Romano quietly before he smiled gently.

"I see…" He whispered, wrapping his arms around the Italian's waist and pulling him close, "It's all good. You did great."

Romano felt the words soothe his heart. He stared down at the Spaniard in shock at first, unable to believe that his lover wasn't mad at him at all. He wrapped his arms around Spain's head and pulled close as well. The curly hair felt cold under the touch of his fingers, and the Italian could only imagine how long it took for it to become that cold. He gritted his teeth in anger to himself. Couldn't he just stand up and pretend to use the restroom and text the Spaniard about being late? Or not that, even a boring message would've been fine; couldn't he have just texted Spain telling him to move somewhere where it was warm? The guilt only continued to build up in Romano, and he could do nothing else than to just hug Spain's head.

Blinking, coming back to reality, Romano checked the clock that hung from the wall, his eyes widening at the time. He muttered a small "I'm leaving" to Veneziano before he left the house, closing the door behind himself and locking it, heading off to the meeting.

When Romano put his car into the parking lot and walked into the building, he managed to make it to the room 10 minutes prior to the meeting starting. Since the road was not as crowded as he expected it to be, he managed to slip in without being late.

Grinning at the possibility of being the first one in the building, Romano made his way to his seat, only to have his small hope shattered immediately after.

"Romano?"

He knew the voice without having to turn to see who it was. The voice was mixed with confusion, questioning the Italian as to why it was the Southern half that came to the meeting instead of the promised Northern. Romano glared to the owner of the voice.

"You have a problem with it being me coming to the meeting, Potato bastard?"

Germany rubbed his temples when he heard the response, as if he dreaded for the meeting to start now. He groaned as Japan appeared behind the blond and nodded his head to Romano, giving a friendly smile.

"Long time no see, Romano."

"Yeah… Long time, Japan. I seem to see Germany often, but not you around as often as before… Veneziano caught a cold, so I'm substituting in for him today." Turning to Germany, Romano explained the situation coldly, ignoring how Germany still looked slightly annoyed. Romano was slightly grouchy at the fact he was not the first in the room, seeing he was excited to tell the others off about being late and all, but the other two seemed to be here long before he ever managed to do so. Figuring his brother must always have troubles for sleeping in as well, Lovino couldn't help but to inwardly bow down to his brother's efforts.

"And? What is today's meeting about?" He threw the question to Germany, in hopes to somehow just get this over with as soon as possible.

"…Italy didn't tell you anything?"

"Veneziano got sick this morning. I didn't have time to ask him. Do you have a problem?"

"Romano… Here are the papers for the meeting." Japan handed the pack to the Italian, who silently accepted it and looked into it. He got the basic idea quite quickly, remembering Veneziano saying something about the lines of the topic, but he was not going to say that in front of Germany after yelling at him like that. The meeting started not even 5 minutes after, and Romano could only wonder why the other two were so 'excited' about getting it done as soon as possible.

"Well, I think we can pause for now and take a break…"

Straightening out the papers in a pile, Japan muttered and smiled up to the group, resting his chin on his hand. The other two nodded quietly and the door opened as if on cue, plates and baskets being brought into the room and put on the meeting table. The lady who walked in with them smiled to the group and bowed her head low. "I hope it tastes alright…"

Romano went back into thought as he pushed away the idea of asking the girl out, Spain coming into his mind and making him sidetrack once more. When was the next time they'll be able to see each other? Romano doubted he could do anything about it until at least Veneziano healed his body from the fever. Scowling at that, he bit into a raw ham that was given out, moving it around lazily in his mouth.

"…Isn't this ham a bit too salty?"

Just as Romano swallowed his ham, Germany spoke up, his brows furrowed. Romano was brought back to reality at those words and tried to remember the taste of the ham he just swallowed, but the ham was already long gone, down to the Italian's stomach.

"Is it?" Japan tilted his head and looked down to the slice of ham in his hand that he already took a bite out of. "It doesn't seem too salty to me…"

"You have too high of a salt intake to begin with, Japan. What was that thing you brought in this morning claiming it to be a snack?"

"Salted cucumber."

"More salted food! ?"

Germany slammed his hand on the table and yelled at the Asian male, who nervously raised his hands and attempted to talk his way out of getting the blond angrier. Romano on the other hand just rolled his eyes and took another slice of ham into his hand. He took a small bite out of it and rolled it around in his mouth once more like before, paying attention to the taste. However, Romano couldn't taste any salt on the meat. In fact, he figured there was no salt at all on the ham and scowled slightly.

"I don't taste any salt on this."

Germany turned around, surprised at the comment. He stared at Romano, as if asking silently if the Italian was telling the truth, and Romano simply nodded his reply.

"…Am I just being overly sensitive?"

"That must be it. You need to use more spice on your food, Germany."

As Germany took another slice and bit into the ham, he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, obviously still not satisfied. He could taste the salt clearly on the ham, and it almost made his eyes water at how salty it actually tasted. Shrugging, Romano and Japan took the last two slices and ate them as well without any complaints. That was when the door suddenly slammed open, and the woman from before pushed herself in, panicked.

"I'm sorry! The ham that I brought in was a mistake; the cook failed to prepare it correctly!"

"Failed?" Japan blinked in confusion. "But it was really good…"

"It was already marinated in salt water, but then the cook salted it once more before serving it… It must have been quite salty… I apologize…"

"It's ok." Germany muttered quietly before he turned to Japan, "Tell the cook the other food was good… Japan, what was that you said about the food not being salty?"

"…!" Japan froze in place for a moment, fear etched onto his features. He opened his mouth to mutter a small "But" before continuing on with "Romano also said he didn't taste it, either!"

"You're right…" Germany blinked in confusion and looked towards the Italian.

"You see? I'm not the only weird one here…"

"That's not an excuse! I'm taking your 'snack' for today, you already had enough salt intake for the day!"

"No! My cucumbers!" As Japan wailed, Germany simply turned back to Romano in question and watched as the brunette moved his fingers around, looking at the salt that stuck to the digits.

"Why didn't you taste it?"

"I don't know."

The Italian brothers were picky with their food, ever since they were born. They enjoyed each detail of the cooking itself and refused to eat anything they didn't think was delicious. The other countries were not as picky as Romano or Veneziano, but when Germany noticed the overly salty ham, how didn't Romano notice it? Tilting his head, Romano muttered quietly to himself in Italian to no one in particular and glanced at the plate the ham was placed on. The meat was already in their stomaches, so Romano couldn't bring some home and ask Veneziano to try it as well. Did he catch some of his brother's cold and not be able to recognize taste?

"…We should get on with the meeting." The depressed voice of Japan brought Romano back to reality, and he shrugged away the thought for now to focus for once at the work that was stacked in front of him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The meeting ended when the sun was beginning to set. The wind that was warm was already cold and the Italian felt chills run up his spine each time it grazed past his skin. Each time he breathed out from his mouth, white puff of what seemed like smoke appeared in front and disappeared immediately after.

With quick steps, Romano made his way into the parking lot and to his car, where he slipped in and rushed to turn on the heater. The cold air that blew out at first warmed up soon, and he felt his fingers begin to come back to life. With those fingers, Romano took out his cellphone and checked his messages. He scanned through several messages that were new, but couldn't find one that was worth answering, so just closed it again and placed it back into his pocket. After doing so, with his now warm fingertips he pushed a few buttons to turn on the radio. A soft tune played in the car, and though Romano couldn't understand the language in which this female singer sang in, he allowed himself to close his eyes and listen.

Italy was most likely still in his bed with his high fever. Romano figured that he would have to drive home as soon as possible, but safely as well.

"Romano's driving is really insane…"

Just as the car began to move, a voice rang in his head. It was the words that Romano heard almost every day from Spain after he first got his driver's license. Yes, Romano knew his driving skills were not one people could call safe. However, being told that by somebody was not something the young male was pleased about back then, and each time he heard Spain say those words, he would suddenly slam on the breaks out of the blue or jerk the steering wheel. Spain would always let out a surprised yelp, and to Romano, that itself gave him satisfaction. He would laugh, and though Spain scolded him with words, he too never was truly angry at his lad.

_I keep thinking about him now days…_

It had been a while since the last time Romano had seen his lover. He hadn't been able to find the time to call him, either. The longer the time of not being able to see the grinning Spaniard, the more Romano felt himself melt with loneliness in his heart.

He had to see him soon. He wanted to see Spain.

Romano quietly began to think of the schedule of this week. If Italy couldn't bring himself back to his good health soon, Romano figured he would have to move around to places for meetings that his brother had planned. If only he could only get the time to have one day off – or not even; half a day or only a few hours would suffice, he just wanted to be with the Spaniard for a bit. He wanted to be able to run his fingers across the tanned skin when he wished to, kiss those lips when he wanted to, and laugh about stupid things together. He wanted to make some time for that.

He wanted the Spaniard to call him stupid names. He wanted to see Spain smile, and wanted Spain to hug him tight.

"I need to check my schedule when I get home…"

Muttering to himself out loud to make sure to remember doing so, Romano felt a tiny hint of a smile come to his face. He didn't mind having to work for days straight to be able to make some time to catch a flight.

It was too long since the last time he'd seen Spain.

* * *

"Veneziano, can you eat?"

Opening the front door and walking in, Romano asked to the dead silence he was welcomed with. Assuming with only that, Romano guessed that his younger brother was still in bed with his fever, and when he went to check he found that his guess was right. Veneziano turned his head to recognize his brother walking into the room and as if it was too much trouble to open his mouth, weakly shook his head from side to side to respond to the question.

"I'll make soup later, so sleep until then," Romano said as he placed his hand on his brother's forehead. However, his hand didn't pick up any temperature; it was like he was just touching something soft that wasn't hot, warm, or cold, and Romano froze at that fact. Just as he began to question what just happened, the temperature suddenly registered into Romano's hand and he felt the high fever that was torturing his brother.

There was a moment where he could not feel the temperature. That very moment caused Romano to stare at his hand that was still on his brother's forehead in disbelief, worry and confusion flickering in his hues.

"…Fratello?" The soft voice was heard, "Fratello's hand is so cold, it feels good…"

With Veneziano's words, Romano jumped slightly and was brought back to reality, out of his thoughts. His brother's temperature was now registering in his hand completely. Figuring it was just himself feeling as though something weird happened, Romano gently slid his hand up and combed his fingers through his brother's hair comfortingly.

"…Just keep sleeping. You'll get better soon."

"Si…"

"Buonanotte."

After nodding once, the younger brother closed his eyes and steadied his breaths. After it became steady, indicating that the other was indeed sleeping, Romano quietly lifted himself from his sitting position next to the bed and left the room, closing the door carefully, sighing right after.

But he had no time to be standing around still, either. For now, he had to make something that his sickly brother could eat, and have it be healthy so that his brother can gain his energy back as soon as possible. Trying to remember the contents inside the fridge, Romano flipped through the recipe cookbook he had in his mind. There was still a lot of vegetables in this house… If he cut it into tiny pieces and boiled it all until it fell apart as soon as one would put it in their mouth, perhaps Veneziano could eat a bit.

"Time to make it…" Commanding himself to the action, Romano felt himself stretch in preparation. He headed to the kitchen and took out the vegetables he intended to use from the fridge. With a knife he began to chop them into tiny pieces, his mind wandering off to other thoughts as he did the simple task.

_After finishing this and feeding it to Veneziano along with some medicine, I should call Spain with my schedule in hand._

He couldn't remember his own schedule (especially now that he had to know Veneziano's as well), and he was sure Spain hardly remember his, but he wanted to make even just enough time to see Spain and talk to him for a few minutes. Meetings that included all the countries have not been done in a while now, and since Veneziano usually was the one who went out to other countries to settle businesses, it was hard to see Spain unless he really made some time and plans to do so.

What did he want to talk about first when he saw Spain? There were a lot of things he wanted to tell the Spaniard. How he was able to wake up now days without having to use the alarm clock. How the cat that was thrown away at a park was following Romano often. How the daisies in the garden bloomed beautifully. And then how they died out without people really noticing them. How he was able to not sleep during meetings anymore. How he couldn't taste the extra salt that was on the ham. Or about just now, when he touched Veneziano's forehead but it took a while for him to register the heat.

But for now, he just wanted to say "I missed you."

While cutting the tomatoes for the soup, Romano kept his thoughts wandering. That was when he felt something on his fingertip, making him blink and glance down to the source.

"…Huh?"

The fingertip was red. It was much more crimson than the tomato itself. It came from his left middle finger, and the color reminded Romano of Spain's flag.

What came from the large gash on his middle finger was a flow of blood. He didn't notice it at all. No, it wasn't like he didn't notice… He didn't even feel the pain when he cut himself with the sharp knife. Though Romano stared at the wide open cut that had blood flowing out of it, he still did not feel the pain.

* * *

"Hello, Spain?"

The ringing tone went off twice before it suddenly stopped and Romano heard an excited "Hello?" coming from the other side of the line. As he called out the other's name with a chuckle, the excited voice suddenly changed to what sounded like one would sound like when almost crying, and Romano's name was muttered into the Italian's ear.

"It's been too long… I thought you forgot about me…"

"How the hell would I forget about your stupidity?"

"But we haven't seen each other in too long! I finally heard your voice… How have you been?"

The voice that clearly cared for his Italian lover soothed Romano's heart, and after muttering a small, "Yeah," he continued on with, "I'm well. But Veneziano is a bit sick at the moment…" As he said so, the voice on the other side let out a surprised gasp.

"Huh? Italy's sick? What happened?"

"He has a fever. I just gave him some soup and medicine and now he's sleeping. I think it's just a cold, but it seems pretty bad… For now, I'm taking over all his work."

"So you're going to be busy…" Though the voice seemed disappointed, it was nothing that made Romano feel guilty about it.

"Yeah, I'll be busy." Though Romano found himself dreading that fact, he sighed softly and lightly shrugged. "But I can make some time to see you." With his right hand he held his phone, and with his left, he began to flip the pages to his schedule book.

"Really?" A surprised gasp came from the phone and Romano chuckled once more, stopping at the page of the current month's schedule page. Though the tiny letters on each and every day made him slightly dizzy, Romano searched for an opening that he could fit in a visitation.

"W-Wait, I'll find my schedule!"

"Why are you in a hurry? I'll be here, put your phone down and use both hands."

"Well, I didn't know we could see each other! Gah, where's my schedule book?"

Romano could almost see the image of Spain on the other side of the line, searching frantically around the room with one hand holding the phone, the other moving everything around to find his tiny red booklet. Imagining Spain rushing around the house with his hand all over the place, the Italian gave a small thought before asking, "What about the drawer next to your bed? You usually put books and stuff in there without thinking." There was a slight pause, and it was followed right after with a voice that exclaimed "Aha!", indicating that the booklet was found, and Romano finally laughed. He could hear the pages getting flipped on the other side.

"Hm… I have to work from tomorrow, three days in my country, so I can't leave this place." After stating so sadly, Spain continued with a question, "When are you available?"

"…Right when you finish your job, I have the next five days booked in Napoli."

"You finish in five days? Then what about the next day? I have to work from the afternoon on that day, but if all goes well, we should be able to spend half the day together."

Romano thought about Spain's idea. It would be a rush, but if he slept through the travels there should be no problem. Well, he might even not have to sleep. After all, even a boring meeting didn't make him feel sleepy. And besides, no matter how hard it was to fit it into the schedule and move around, Romano wanted to see Spain. He wanted to have Spain run his rough fingers against his skin and be able to feel the other close to him.

"Alright, I will go with that plan."

"I know it'll be a rough trip, and I'm sorry about that… But I'm excited to finally be able to see you." When Romano heard that voice, he felt the smile tug at his lips as he imagined Spain's face. It was such a shame he couldn't be there right now to see it. Spain must have been having the biggest smile on his face at the current moment as he held the phone to his ear.

Spain's voice melted Romano's fear slowly like the bright sun against ice. The younger male lifted his left hand after he placed the schedule book to the side so he could stare at the middle finger with the bandage covering the large gash. The blood kept flowing as if it never knew how to stop, but no matter how long Romano waited, no pain rushed to register in his brain. That itself brought fear into Romano's cowardly mind, and he could only question the reason as to why Spain wasn't here to explain and comfort him about it. He wanted to cling to his lover and former caregiver and cry, asking for the reason of this mystery. Spain would most likely pet his head and hug his form while saying, "It's okay."

Even if it really wasn't okay, if Spain said it was, Romano was always able to think as so. Spain's words were like magical spells. Just a moment ago, Romano was scared, but after the phone connected the fear disappeared without trace for now.

In reality, Romano was thinking of telling Spain what was happening over the phone. However, he was afraid he couldn't explain it well over the phone without being able to see Spain's face for reactions, and besides, he was much calmer now that he heard Spain's voice, so he found no reason to rush it. There was no need to worry Spain now, and if he waited for a week, he could explain everything face to face with the other country. Might as well calm down and explain it one on one later. They could have some Sherry and talk like it was a normal every day conversation topic.

"You work tomorrow, right? Don't you have to get up early?"

"Mhm. I have to wake up at six."

"Woah, don't sleep in."

"You can't be saying that to me, Romano… You're the one who can't wake up in the morning, not me."

_Oh yeah, Spain doesn't know I can wake up early on my own yet…_

Grinning to himself at that thought, Romano decided to not say it now. He was going to tell this to his lover as a surprise when he saw him. It was one of the topics he was going to have to keep for that day. "Well, make sure you wake up at six then and head to work. I have to go to a meeting tomorrow, too."

"Is that so? Well, good luck to both of us, then!"

After responding with a small 'yeah', Romano looked at the clock and figured it was time to hang up. He really wanted to keep talking with the Spaniard, but he really had to control himself. Phone bills these days… Besides, for the past few minutes Romano could hear what he figured was sleepiness mixed into Spain's voice.

"Well then…"

"Mn… Buenas noches."

"Si… Buonanotte."

With that, Romano took the phone away from his ear and was about to turn off the phone, when suddenly the Spaniard exclaimed, "Oh, Romano! Wait!", causing the Italian to stop and bring the phone back to his ear in question. After a pause, Spain continued on, worry mixed into his voice as he spoke. "You said Italy's sick? Then please be careful… Unlike people, we countries can fall ill anytime under that circumstance… Just be ready, ok?"

* * *

If he remembered correctly, it was still in the files in the storage. Romano made sure he stayed quiet so he wouldn't wake his brother and searched around. Though the room was slightly a freezing temperature, Romano felt a bead of sweat roll down his neck. Pushing away the heavy items, Romano went deeper into the storage room, searching.

The words Spain said to him repeated continuously in his head for god knows how many times now. He forgot, but a country's illness was much different to a normal person's. After World War I, other than a tiny percentage of the world, majority of the nations had fallen ill. At that time, not only Veneziano, but Romano too was attacked with an extremely high fever. He remembered that each time on felt better, the other would as well, but it was always not too long before one fell back ill, dragging the other down into the illness as well.

A country's illness was only affected by the movements in the nation itself. Unlike people, who fell ill from being tired and eating unhealthily, nations were much more durable and needed different laws to come into place for them to have the same symptoms. As Romano continued to search, his thoughts wandered off to thinking of the current Italy itself as a nation a whole. It was full of debt, people were jobless, and they were running poor. No doubt it had all the laws in place for the brothers to fall ill. That only confused Romano even more, causing him to raise his hand and mess his hair up using his fingers to scratch it around roughly. He could hear the rough, troubled breathing from the room next door from his brother, struggling with the fever. "…Why the hell am I fine…?"

The confused and now annoyed male kicked the box nearby and watched it fall over. From the unsealed box came out what seemed like thousands of books and notes. Realizing he found what he was looking for, Romano sat down next to the box and dug through the books and papers, finally finding a packet of papers stuck together with several clips. The title on the front wrote "World Flu Epidemic", making Romano cringe at the memory.

He couldn't forget how hard it was when all the nations fell ill after World War I. He scanned the words that detailed the events and situations at that time. When he found a line he was searching for, Romano stopped momentarily and took a deep breath before he reread it carefully out loud, as if to make himself listen. "Though the epidemic began mainly in the Soviet Union, it spread across Europe, and our representatives were no exception. Italy -Veneziano and Italy-Romano both fell ill and claimed the similar symptoms…"

He remembered being in bed with Veneziano at this time, fighting a high fever and not being able to eat. If that was the case, why were there differences between them now?

The fingers that held the page in place began to shake. The bandage on his left finger caught his attention once more, causing him to bite his lips as fear reemerged within him. Still no pain.

Placing the papers back into the box, Romano pushed it aside and left the room, feeling slightly dizzy with the facts now pushed in his mind. Though he already took a shower, Romano was covered in sweat. Whether it was from the heat that was produced when he moved around or just because he was in a panicked state, Romano wasn't too sure. All he knew right now was that he didn't feel up to taking another bath.

He walked into his own room and slumped himself over his bed. On the alarm clock on the side table next to his bed, the digital numbers showed that it was past midnight. He had to get up early the next day. Though he was awake pretty much all day, from not having taken his siesta, Romano felt wide awake, but he figured if he didn't sleep now it could affect his work the following day. Though he didn't feel sleepy, Romano took off all his clothing, which were drenched in sweat, and crawled under the covers. Wrapping himself tightly, he sighed and closed his eyes, feeling his body warm up with the help of the thick blanket. He tried to think of peaceful things he heard people often talk about when they said they had a good dream. Like about having grown wings and flying around in the quiet sky. Or maybe about his childhood when he was playing all day without a worry in his mind? Yes… Back then, Spain would almost always come to his side and pet his lad's head while giving the boy the smile that Romano loved.

Often times the hand traveled wrong, and it had fingers graze against the hair that stuck out of Romano's head, and the boy would close his mouth tightly to avoid weird noises coming from himself, and would glare up to the Spaniard. Not knowing why he was getting glared at, Spain would hesitantly laugh and say "Lo siento," and pull his hand away—

…Usually by this time in thought, Romano found himself asleep, but drowsiness refused to come to Romano's aid. Instead, Romano felt himself wake up further. He wasn't able to take his mid-day nap, so in reality he should be exhausted, but even so.

At times, Romano found it difficult to sleep. When that happened, he used to climb into Spain's bed and have him sing a lullaby, or Spain would give him a kiss on the forehead and say it was a charm to get him to sleep. Romano then would be able to relax fully and put himself to sleep. He tried to think that the Spaniard was doing it to him right now, and tried to lure himself to sleep, but remembered all the weird things that were happening to his body and slowly opened his eyes. Darkness entered his vision and made him shiver slightly.

It was still long until morning came. For the first time in his life, Romano felt that he experienced exactly how long a night was.

* * *

"Veneziano, how are you feeling?"

Romano opened the door slowly and peeked in, and he saw his brother lying on bed, his face still flushed in pink. The younger brother parted his lips in response and took a few quick breaths as if he couldn't breathe calmly without lacking of oxygen. Romano felt something sting him inside at the sight.

"Fratello…" After Veneziano saw his brother, he let out a sigh-like voice that made it sound as if he was suddenly calmed upon seeing someone he knew, "I don't think I can make it today, either…"

"I can see that. I'll go to the meeting today too, so don't push yourself too hard."

"Si… Mi dispiace…"

"Idiota, I told you this yesterday, too…" As he continued on with his words, Romano felt something tug his inner strings but he decided to ignore the feeling of sudden doubt, "I'm 'Italy' too."

"Hehe… You're right. Grazie, fratello."

Romano placed a hand over his younger brother's eyes and sighed. He wasn't too sure whether it was to calm himself (or his brother, for that matter) or he wanted to cover his brother's eyes from seeing the pang of worry he might have shown on his face. "I'm going now, so stay in bed today too, got it?"

Veneziano sighed out a small "Si~" before he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. After he was sure that his brother was off to dreamland once more, Romano left the room and closed the door behind himself. He needed to get ready to leave for today's meeting.

He wasn't able to sleep at all last night. Romano felt as if it was the longest night in his entire lifetime. Drowsiness still didn't come to him either, and still the Italian didn't feel as if he needed to sleep at all to begin with. He finally slid out of bed at 4am that morning. After laying around on the couch and reading some books he found in the nearby bookshelf in the living room, Romano was able to look up at the clock to find that it was six in the morning.

"_I have to wake up at six."_

When he remembered hearing that on the phone the night before, Romano thought about his doubt of the Spaniard being awake before he stood up from the couch and grabbed his phone. He dialed a familiar number and pressed the phone against his ear.

"Hello…" The voice on the other side of the line spoke sleepily, "What's wrong, Romano…? It's so early…"

"Were you awake?"

"Hmm…? Oh… Well… I want to say yes, but honestly, I woke up from the phone ringing… What about you? You're up quite early… You have to leave in the morning, too?"

"…Well, yeah. I guess it's something like that." Romano lied a tiny lie.

The exhausted Spaniard didn't notice Romano's voice shifting at that lie and continued on, "Wow… You can wake up early on your own now!" Romano heard rustling on the other side and knew that Spain had lifted himself off the bed as he kept talking, "Thank you for waking me up. I'm going to go get ready for work now, so you have a good day."

"Si… Do your best."

"Hm, you too. Don't fall asleep at the meeting."

Without bothering to answer the Spaniard, Romano turned off the call. Spain would probably now head to work; if he kept talking, Romano had no doubt that Spain would keep chit-chatting along and forget the fact he had to leave for work. Romano, too, had to get ready to leave once more and head to the same meeting as yesterday. Glancing at the clock, Romano saw that it was still too early and picked up the television remote. After slumping back down on the comfortable couch, he flipped the device on and mindlessly stared at the screen. He didn't really feel too hungry to eat breakfast, but at the same time saw no need to make coffee either, so just continued watching television until the clock went off above the television, indicating that Romano had to leave for work. He turned off the television and grabbed his jacket before he said loudly, "I'm leaving now," towards his brother's room. By the looks of not getting any answer to it, Romano assumed that his brother was asleep. Smiling contently at that, Romano head out to the parking lot and slipped himself into the car.

He got there earlier than he expected. Romano doubted he was the first one there, but in his mind he played the scenario in which he was, where he could sip some tea and comment on the others being late like he has always been done to. With that in mind, he grinned slightly but quickly pushed the expression aside when he reached the door to the room.

"Romano…?" The soft voice spoke up when he walked into the room. Japan blinked in surprise. "You're here early."

"It's just you here? Where's the macho potato bastard?"

"Germany called in and said he got stuck in traffic so is going to be slightly late. He should be here soon, though." Nodding to show he understood, Romano took a seat on the chair nearest to the door. As if he couldn't believe that he was here early, Japan couldn't help but to glance at his friend's older brother several times. Romano just closed his eyes and decided to ignore it. He was usually late, but for the last two days he showed up before the meeting started. It was not strange for Japan to be staring at him in disbelief.

"…"

Japan doesn't talk much. And to add onto that, Romano wasn't really close to the Asian nation as his brother was, so naturally silence filled the room the two were in. The first one who couldn't stand the silence was Romano, and he opened his eyes slightly to be able to see Japan before he let out a small "Hey," and was answered with a "Yes?" by the smaller male.

"…It's about a book I have been reading, but…"

"Mhm?"

"There's these brothers, who are always together… And when one gets hurt or sick, the other gets the same symptoms. But one day, one of the brothers got sick but the other didn't. And that's not it; it's like the other brother keeps losing his senses. He doesn't feel pain when he's cut, can't sleep at night, and there's a lot more but… Why do you think that happened?"

"…It's already strange at the point that that even happens to begin with. It's like they share a strange bond…"

"Yeah. But to them, that was normal. And when suddenly it stops being that way, they get very confused. Do you think it's some illness that's going on?"

Japan shook his head slowly. "Illness… Well, maybe, but at the same time, maybe not. I am old but sadly I have never heard of such symptoms. Maybe China would know…"

_China…? _

Romano thought quietly to himself. It wasn't like he was close to the nation or anything socially, but it was true that the most ancient nation would know something about this… "If you'd like, I could ask him about it?" As if he noticed how worried and in thought Romano looked, Japan asked as he gave his familiar gentle smile.

"Well… It's just a book though."

"Yes, but you want to know something about it, right? He might know that book and may tell you more about its origins… So what do you say?" Tilting his head, Japan asked slowly and waited for Romano to respond. When the Italian finally gave a nod, Japan nodded back in understanding and went back to looking down at the paperwork in front of him. "I will ask him today after the meeting, then."

That was when the two nations heard the door open behind them, and Romano turned to the noise fully. Japan merely glanced up and nodded in greeting to the blond nation that walked in. "I'm sorry, but I overheard what you two were talking about. I could ask about it to my brother as well."

"I didn't ask your potato ass to hear about it. It's rude to eavesdrop, you know?"

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard it from the other side of the door. I was going to walk in but felt bad for stopping you two in the middle of the conversation." Germany stated, looking slightly guilty. Romano saw that expression and decided he couldn't say anything more than he already had.

For now, China and Prussia were going to be told about his 'story's' situation. He couldn't hope that at least one of them would know what was going on with him. "I just have one request to you two, other than that…" Romano started, and Germany and Japan glanced back slowly. At that, Romano uneasily shifted his gaze away and mumbled loud enough for them both to hear, "Can you not tell Spain or Veneziano about this? I don't want them thinking I've gone crazy or anything, getting all worked up about a story…"

As if to think that Romano was very caring for his partner/lover and his brother, the two nodded in understanding and Germany muttered, "Understood."

* * *

**Reviews will make me happy.**

**VERY happy. XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

**I keep forgetting to mention; in this story, HRE =/= Germany. I know that some people do not want to read stories as such, so just making sure you know that ahead of time. :)**

**I also recommend reading this with some sort of calm piano music in the background. It really sets the mood ;D I recommend Celluloid ~ Piano Arrange. It's on youtube! Just type in "repeat" before the "youtube" in the link and you should have the song repeating the whole time until you stop it yourself~**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The meeting ended quicker than schedule. The sun was still in the sky, though beginning to set, lighting the streets. Pushing back the worry in the back of his mind about the brother he left back alone at home, Romano went into the library before he headed home. The distinct scent of old books filled the air as soon as he entered the building. After a single glance to the map of the building that was neatly taped to the wall, Romano headed to the section that held the book that he was looking for.

That book was left in the back, forgotten by those who even worked in the place. It was obvious that visitors barely reached this end of the building when they came in. With each step he took, the smell reached his nose and made him sigh. After reaching the deep end, where it seemed as if time had stopped long ago, he finally found the book he was looking for.

The thick, black book that Romano picked had dust covering it. Though the gold lining on the cover was beginning to fade, Romano was able to read the title, "World's Illnesses". As the Italian's finger ran across it, part of the dust came off and the black increased in its darkness in color. Romano quickly looked through it, deciding it was one he was looking for. The chapters showed the history of each and all of the world's medical studies.

If Romano were to live his everyday life and never would have faced his current situation, it would have been a book that he would have never even noticed. Like a child holding his treasured item, Romano carefully brought the book to the counter and placed it. The beautiful lady that worked at the counter smiled to him after she picked up the heavy book, telling him in a quickened whisper, "The last time this book was borrowed was over ten years ago."

With great care, Romano placed the book on the seat next to him and drove his way back home. Each time the sunlight came through the window, it lightened the gold lining on the book. Trying to not think too much about it until he could finally sit down and read it, Romano continued driving until he was able to park in his own parking lot. He got off the car and took the book in hand, absentmindedly looking up at his brother's room's window. The yellow light was on; perhaps he was well enough now that he could at least sit up? Wishing that was the case in his heart, Romano opened the door to his house and called out rather loudly, "I'm home!"

"Welcome home~."

If he hadn't listened in, he would have never heard that voice. It was still quiet, almost like a fly buzzing around and away. Before heading to his own room, Romano went to his brother's and opened the door. Veneziano was sitting up on his bed, beginning to pick at the food that would seem most easy on his possibly aching stomach. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I still feel a little dizzy… But it's a lot better than yesterday I think. I can eat a little…"

"I see…" Romano couldn't help but to feel relieved. The younger brother watched his sibling and smiled softly, his face still red from the fever.

"I'm sorry for making you do all the work…"

"Eh, it's all good. Besides, I told you this morning too, right?"

"Mhm… I'm glad I have fratello as my brother…"

Romano tilted his head in question and Veneziano smiled further. "Well… For other countries, they cannot have somebody else do their work when they're sick… But I have you, so I can concentrate on getting myself better. It's really a relief."

"Maybe you should work on doing a bit yourself then even when you're sick?"

"Veh~… I would like to have some days off too, you know?"

"Every day for you is a day off." Romano grinned.

Veneziano's cheeks puffed out at that. His lips puckered childishly, and Romano saw his brother as how he looked way back in history, while they were still children. It was like a habit that the younger male had never gotten out of. Romano pushed his finger against the puffed cheeks and chuckled when air came out the lips along with a weird sound. He then used that hand to slowly trail upwards to his brother's forehead, attempting to check his temperature. No warmth or coldness however came to register in his hand, and Romano had to hold back from gritting his teeth in frustration. Before Veneziano could question, Romano pulled his hand away and muttered, "We should check with a thermometer. It'll be more accurate, wouldn't it?"

He couldn't feel temperature. Romano felt his heart thump in him crazily in panic, but as soon as he felt the book in his hand he felt it calm. As if to double check that he indeed have what he borrowed, he moved the book so that he was holding it with both hands. The weight comforted him.

"Hm?" Veneziano noticed the book and tilted his head. "What's that? It looks like a very difficult book…"

"Yeah… I need it for work."

"Veh… I would fall asleep on the first paragraph…"

"I agree… I would need to make some coffee and read it with that."

Veneziano didn't notice the lie that his brother quickly made up. He laughed before it quickly changed into a coughing fit. When it finally stopped, tears laid a layer in his eyes and he wheezed. Romano watched in silence and reached an arm out, placing his hand on his brother's head.

"You still seem sick… Go back to sleep. I'm sure you'll be better in a few days."

"…Yeah. I'll go to sleep then."

"Goodnight."

Romano turned off the light on the stand beside the bed, watching the lightened room quickly fade to black. He stood in the darkness for a bit until he heard the calmed breathing that showed that his brother was indeed asleep. Anyone could tell that Veneziano obviously wasn't feeling perfect just yet.

Moving the bangs away from his brother's forehead, Romano placed his hand on it and waited. No fever. No heat in general. It felt like he was simply touching a wax doll.

But he wasn't shocked anymore.

He didn't feel hungry or sleepy, not that he ever did anymore for a long time now. After washing himself up in the shower, Romano pressed himself into the bed under his covers and opened up the book, beginning to read the letters the size of a single grain.

* * *

After a several hours of reading and getting the first two chapters read, Romano felt the vibration of his cellphone on his bed. With an annoyed look, Romano glanced to the alarm clock next to his bed. It was way past midnight. Curious but annoyed at whoever sent the message, he opened the phone and in front of the picture that he took with Spain the other day, in bold letters, read "One new message". Selecting it, Romano opened it up and saw that the sender was Japan.

"Japan?"

Questioning himself, figuring that this was the first message he ever gotten from Japan in the first place, he opened up the message that was sent. He then put a finger on the page of the book he was reading to make sure it was marked and began to read the words on the screen.

"_Mr. Romano,"_ It wrote, _"I'm sorry for sending a message this late. I am sure you wish to go back to sleep, so I will just write what I needed to tell you. I spoke to China about today's topic. He said he might know what is going on. He didn't tell me what it was, but he told me to tell you to call him, so when you find the time please give him a call. Good night." _

When Romano finished reading the message, his eyes were wide. He couldn't believe them. China might know what was going on…? Even after two long chapters from the book, Romano failed to know what exactly was happening to him, but China knew? Not wanting to rush himself too much, Romano glanced at the time and calculated the time difference and after figuring it was a bit suspicious whether the other man would be awake, decided it was worth a shot and began looking through the list of names on his phone. He had the other saved in here, but never actually called the other.

While he was looking for China's name in his phone however, the phone came to life and vibrated again. Romano gasped loudly in surprise and it took him a moment to figure out what exactly just happened. After reading the name 'Prussia' on the screen, he finally remembered that just as Japan asked China, Germany said he would ask his brother as well.

"Hello?"

He couldn't contain the excitement in his voice when he answered the phone. However, as if to ignore the voice that the other spoke with, the party on the other line spoke quickly, in slight panic. "I heard about it from West."

It was like they were in a suspense drama. The voice was rushed and beginning to sound desperate. Romano was unable to answer, taken back by it. "That's not a book you were talking about… It was about you, wasn't it?"

Romano froze. No voice came out his mouth.

"Answer me!"

The words came out slightly angry now. Romano blinked, noticing his fingers shaking as he took a deep breath.

"What are you so mad about? I told both Germany and Japan that it's only a story I was reading."

Finally his voice came out. He felt sweat beginning to make their way on his back, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Why was Prussia in such panic? Unable to understand the reasoning behind it, Romano only felt a seed of worry beginning to grow within him.

"Whatever, just hurry up and tell Spain! This isn't something you can deal with on your own!"

"What are you talking about…?"

Like China had an idea of what this was, did Prussia know something as well? With that hope in mind, Romano asked softly, almost carefully. He felt as if his heart was going to jump out his chest any minute when Prussia didn't answer immediately, but he said nothing to rush him. After what seemed like forever, Prussia finally seemed to manage to squeeze his voice out.

"Do you know who the Holy Roman Empire was?"

"…I know his name, but that's about it. Veneziano used to talk about him a lot. I saw him a few times too, but never really knew much about him."

It was back when the brothers lived in separate homes. Romano was with Spain and Veneziano with Austria, and the letters received from his brother at that time almost always had the name Holy Roman Empire written in them. It was easy to notice that the younger boy had become good friends with the other. But all of the sudden the name was never written in the letters anymore.

"Yeah… Italy and him were good friends… Do you know about how he never came back?"

"…"

No one ever told that to him in person. However, it didn't take a genius to notice that, either. He was told that he went to war one day, and Veneziano was very depressed about that. Right when the name disappeared from the letters, Venaziano was like an empty shell, often times staring out into space.

"He disappeared. He didn't die, he disappeared… Completely."

"Disappeared…?"

"Exactly. He ceased to exist. I was with him when it happened, so I saw what was going on the entire time." Prussia paused once more, as if he was in deep thought, not wanting to bring back those memories. After several minutes, he sighed deeply and continued, "He said… His senses were becoming paralyzed. We didn't know what was going on, but we joked saying it was a good thing since he didn't have to feel pain from the war… But then… One day, he just disappeared…"

"…"

Romano didn't know what to say. He couldn't find himself saying he was sorry for Prussia, or imagine himself in Prussia's place. His mind was blank, just listening for Prussia's words. As if he knew what was going on, Prussia began to finally speak softly, though Romano knew better than to take is as Prussia pitied him.

"Listen, tell Spain immediately. Tell him from yourself; I'm not going to do it for you. Got it?"

He spoke as if he was telling a child what to do, and in a weird way, Romano found comfort in that voice. He however didn't feel happy. But then again, he wasn't feeling sad either. For a moment he believed that his emotions were now paralyzed as well.

"It's too late when you're already gone…"

When he heard Prussia say so, Romano felt a single tear finally roll down his cheek. He muttered to himself, telling himself that at least he still felt enough to be able to make tears, and slowly hugged his knees to his chest.

* * *

The last words spoken by the albino didn't reach Romano's memories. His surroundings suddenly seemed dark and he felt as if he had been quietly wiping tears off his face for hours before he finally picked up the phone again and began searching for China's name. If he was asleep, then he could just call back later. Not a big deal.

"Romano?" The voice was heard after the fifth ring.

"Japan told me to call you…"

"I told him to tell you that… You, where did you find out about those kind of symptoms. I've been living for a long time now, but I only heard of such things as to when a country ceases to exist from the face of the Earth, and I've only seen it a very few times even with my own eyes."

Unlike Prussia, who knew immediately that Romano was the one who had the symptoms he was asking of, China spoke as if he really believed that the Italian had only heard it from elsewhere. That itself was comforting.

"Which ones have you seen?"

"The most recent would be the Holy Roman Empire… Well, countries are born and can disappear rather quickly."

"Disappear…"

"At least, the ones I have seen all did. But these days we haven't had many large wars that can danger a country from disappearing, so I don't think it should really worry anybody at the moment."

"Is there a way to avoid it?" Romano asked, worry edging into his voice. China stopped momentarily in silence before he answered.

"…I… Don't know."

Even China didn't know of a way to avoid it from happening. But the Holy Roman Empire managed to stay in people's hearts and memories even after he was gone. Even if Romano was destined to disappear, if that happened, at least in just Spain in Veneziano's memories, then perhaps he won't be as lonely. He would be remembered by those he cared most for, and at this point that was the only way he could think of himself being left where he was at the moment.

There was only one thing that bothered him about that idea, though. Unlike the Holy Roman Empire, there were two "Italy"s. What if, after Romano was gone, Veneziano became a full country and Romano was treated as if he never existed?

"…I only know of a certain few cases where countries disappeared. Or maybe, I do know a lot, but when they disappeared I simply forgot and cannot remember of them anymore. I can't say anything for certain, and I don't know what we can do to avoid or start any of it."

"…Alright."

China lived the longest, and even him didn't know anything about this. It was hard to think that someone else would know. Romano traced his finger over the printed paper of the book that was still open on his bed, his mind wandering to such thoughts as he did so.

In a sense, Romano felt relieved.

At least he knew a bit of what was going on and what would most likely happen now. It was frightening to just notice his senses fading away without any reasoning. At least now, he could now focus on how he wanted to spend the rest of his days left on the Earth.

"Sorry for asking weird questions. Thanks."

"No, I don't mind…" China mumbled, and afterwards asked, "That aside… Are you alright?"

Unlike Prussia from before, China asked calmly.

"I'm fine," Romano answered with a small laugh that even surprised himself. "It's not like I'm lying or anything, either. It's just… I feel much calmer. Like I understand and it's not troubling me anymore… Or something like that."

He didn't feel any anger. Or panic, for that matter. Just relaxation ran through his body, numbing his emotions. There was just one thing that still worried him, but it wasn't something China could help with anyway.

"…If you need to know anything else, don't hesitate to call me. Don't worry about the time differences."

"Mhm. Thank you." For once being able to honestly thank a man several times in one call, Romano flipped his phone shut and laid himself onto the bed. The mattress sunk with his weight. The silence in the room bothered him, but he managed to instead try to focus on the faint breaths he heard from the other room, from his brother sleeping.

_Did Spain already sleep?_

Prussia told him to tell Spain immediately. Romano was hesitant on the idea at first, but afterwards Prussia made a point, saying it was too late after he was gone. The Italian didn't know about Holy Roman Empire too much, but by judging how Prussia spoke of him and how they were indeed close countries, and might have been more like a family than common allies. Maybe even like brothers. If so, Romano couldn't imagine how heartbroken Prussia must have been when he found out that he could do nothing to save the boy. Even though the albino male seemed to always smile and joke around, he must have really broken down at that point in time.

It could have just been his own pathetic ego, but Romano didn't want Spain to have to go through the same thing if that was what really happened. He didn't want the Spaniard to try to find every evidence of how he was alive and mourn daily about him. Instead, Romano simply wanted to just be remembered as a part of Spain's life and have Spain move on with his own. But to have that happened, Romano knew he had to tell Spain about this. With his own words.

How would Spain react? Would he start to wail like a tiny child and break down at spot? Romano frowned in worry at the thought.

There was still a lot of time left before the sun came up and took place for the moon. Spain most likely was still deep in his peaceful dreams. Deciding to let him stay floating in that, Romano placed his phone back down onto the bed, finally letting it lose from his hands.

He can call him in the morning. He could say good morning, talk a little about things that didn't really matter to the world, and then get a flight ticket. He could just tell work that he wasn't feeling well; it should come to no surprise, Veneziano wasn't feeling well at all either. Right now, Romano felt he had something more important to tend to.

Looking through the pages of the book he really had no purpose in reading anymore, Romano laid in bed, wishing for the night to end, but at the same time wanting to keep going. It felt awkward, but Romano decided to dismiss his own thoughts.

Morning came too quickly for Romano's likes. Closing the book that he had been reading the entire night, Romano pushed himself off the bed and moved to the closet. He put on a shirt and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast for himself and Veneziano, finishing it rather quickly and looking at the clock. The window next to the ticking device started to light up finally. Opening his phone, Romano went through the names on the screen, stopping when only Spain's name repeatedly filled the screen. The Italian selected one and recalled the number chosen.

After a few low ringing sounds, the line finally connected, beginning with a sleepy voice on the other side. "Mn…"

"Don't you need to go to work early? Wake up."

Murmurs from the Spaniard were heard from the other side of the line. Romano could imagine how Spain was curled up in his blankets, not wanting to give up the warmth and still wanting to sleep, but knowing he had to get up. As if to push him another step, Romano sighed and grumbled, "Wake up. You're going to be late, Bastard…"

"Mnn… I'm awake…" Slowly strength found its way into the older man's voice. Hearing the rustling of sheets, Romano too knew that the other was not lying. "Good morning, Romano…"

He wanted to hear those words in person, facing the other. How many more times would he be able to hear them from him? How many more days would he be able to spend time talking to Spain? Holding himself back from immediately begin talking about what he found out the night before, Romano swallowed a lump in his throat and commented, "If you don't hurry and get ready, your boss will scold you again."

"Gracias~. You called just to make sure I'd get up? You've been waking up so early now days; it's like the opposite of the years back then."

"Well yeah. You don't know it, but I'm already an adult, Idiot…"

Spain chuckled on the phone, and Romano allowed a grin to show on his face.

"Oh… Spain, after work today, are you heading home?"

"Hm~? No, today I have to stay at a hotel after work. I will head home tomorrow noon."

"I see. What hotel are you staying at?"

Without question, Spain answered with the hotel's name and room. Romano quickly wrote it down on a piece of paper he found lying nearby. Spain didn't even bother asking why his Italian would be asking such thing; Romano took it that either he was still asleep or just slow as usual.

The hotel name was one that Romano heard of before. Perhaps it's the same hotel that their bosses make them stay at when they're at work. Mapping out the route to the hotel from the airport, Romano held the phone in another hand and spoke again.

"Alright. Hey, head to work. Don't fall asleep during the meeting."

"I know that much, I'm not you, Romano." With a light laugh, the two said their goodbyes and turned off the phone. The conversation stopped in a heartbeat and Romano couldn't help but to feel slight loneliness at it, but he shook his head of the thoughts and feelings.

He still had things he needed to do. Scanning through names on the phone again, Romano stopped at his boss's name and placed the device back to his ear.

"Hello? This is Romano… I don't feel well, so I would like to ask for the day off. Yes, both Veneziano and I… No, I'll be okay. I think it might just be a cold; it should get better if I rest for the day. Yes… Yes… Mhm. I'm sorry… Thank you. Yes, I will call back. Thank you. Have a good day."

He gave out a small lie. However, he didn't feel as nearly as guilty as he should normally be feeling. If he was going to cease to exist soon, he wanted to spend the time he had left by being Romano, not a country.

* * *

"Veneziano? Are you awake?"

Romano whispered, opening the door slowly. Veneziano lifted his head from the pillow and smiled, nodding. Seeing that, Romano allowed himself into the room.

"How are you feeling?"

"A lot better… I still feel a little feverish though."

"That's good…"

Romano placed a bowl of hot soup on the stand beside Veneziano's bed. "I'm sorry, but today I found out I needed to stay the night out for work. I have all the food cooked for you, but will you be alright? I'll tell the Potato to come by and check on you, but still…"

Veneziano picked up the bowl with both hands and after he sniffed in the steam that came from the hot bowl, smiled contently. "It smells delicious…" And finally he turned back to Romano, "I'll be fine. You just concentrate on you work, okay? I can survive on my own."

With a small laugh, Romano nodded. "I see. Well, I got to leave now."

"Mhm. Good luck."

Watching his brother wave him off from the corner of his eye, Romano left the room and closed the door, taking his phone out again to quickly go through the names to find Germany's. He called the number as he walked away from the room, getting ready as he spoke.

"Romano?" The voice asked. It was much calmer than his usual tone, almost too quiet. Romano figured that he heard the conversation he had the night before with Prussia; maybe he was listening to it right next to his brother when it was happening.

"Yeah. Hey, I need to leave the house today for a bit, but Veneziano isn't really at perfect health yet. If you don't mind, when you have the time, could you possibly come by and check in on him?"

"Italy…? He's still not feeling well?"

"He's saying he feels a bit better… But I'm not comfortable leaving him on his own yet."

"Alright… I'll check in on him after work."

"Grazie."

After telling Germany to not forget, Romano was about to turn off his phone when he heard his name asked for on it. Blinking, the Italian placed the phone back on his ear.

"…Are you going to Spain's?"

Germany asked with his voice uncertain. It was as if he almost didn't want to ask, and Romano thought for a second if he should answer honestly or not. If Prussia was there, it was better to just tell the truth, wasn't it?

"Mhm."

"…Be careful."

Romano grinned, thinking it sounded as if he was about to go to war. Germany was quiet, waiting for an answer, so he simply said "Will do," and hung up the phone.

After packing up his items, Romano found himself now in the cab, asking for the driver to take him to the airport. The man nodded his answer and began to drive, occasionally attempting to talk with his customer.

"It's freezing today, isn't it?"

Romano shifted his gaze out the window. There was no way for him to know, he could be in short sleeves and pants and he would still feel no cold. But when he saw the people wrapped up in heavy jackets and walking with their backs slightly curved inward, Romano too noticed that the driver's words were true. It must be cold outside… Romano nodded. "You're right. It's really cold today."

The drive seemed short but at the same time seemed to take forever, but when they were finally at the airport, the cab stopped. The man called out the price that showed on the small screen and Romano just handed the money in silence. The driver smiled.

"Have a good say, sir."

"…You too."

* * *

"Yes, who is it?"

After hearing the bell ring, the voice asked on the speaker. Romano stood in front of the door to Spain's room. It was almost night; the sun had already set and was now only showing barely orange colors in the sky. Romano had to admit, it was a beautiful sight, but it would be quickly forgotten with what he was about to tell Spain now. Without waiting for a reply to his own question, Spain opened the door carelessly. Romano narrowed his eyes at the foolish act just as green hues met hazel ones.

"…Romano?" Romano nodded, and Spain was sent into a slight rush of words that repeated continuously, mostly being "Huh?" and "What?" and "Why?"

"I came to see you." Romano put an end to the broken record, slipping into the room through the opened door. "Because I wanted to see you."

The room was slightly dark. Other than the small light on the desk, there really was no other light source, so to Romano who was just in the bright hallway, it caused temporary blindness. He heard the door close behind him, and a split second later, he was pulled back by forceful arms and held into an embrace.

"Romano… Romano, it's really you…"

The embrace tightened. Normally Romano would have pushed the Spaniard away, yelling at him saying that he couldn't breathe, but the slightly painful embrace comforted Romano like he was a child again.

"Who else would I be?"

"What about work?"

"…It canceled last minute, so I decided to come and see you." Romano turned his head and grinned playfully, the best he could muster. "Were you surprised?" Spain gave a nod and leaned his head against Romano's.

"I wanted to see you…"

"Me too."

He was really beginning to miss Spain's presence. As a child, he always found the Spaniard annoying, but when something like this happened Romano wanted Spain to be beside him to tell him everything was alright. Shifting his gaze to the floor, Romano gathered himself before he turned to look back up to Spain again.

"Spain…" He started, amazed his voice was actually working, "There's something I need to tell you."

"Hm?" Spain tilted his head to the side and asked gently. Romano didn't repeat, but Spain continued on anyway. "Is it going to be long?"

The Italian gave a small nod, and the taller male continued his gentle smile as he left Romano's figure momentarily to move to the bed, sitting on it and patting the mattress beside him. "Then let's sit down."

Romano rested his weight on the bed as well. The mattress sunk with their weights, but the two took almost no notice of it. Spain placed a hand on Romano's between them, comfortingly curling his fingers so that he was holding his partner's fingers, as if to silently tell him he was not going to leave anytime soon. That simple act caused Romano to feel brave.

"I…I've been very weird, lately…"

His voice trembled. Tears were already beginning to make a wall in his eyes, blurring his vision. Romano silently took a deep breath and tried to hold them back with some success for now.

"Weird?"

"...I don't feel sleepy at meetings anymore. I don't need to take siestas for a whole day, and I can wake up without the alarm clock in the morning."

"That's not weird! I believe it's a good thing, ain't it?" Spain asked, patting Romano's head with his free hand as if he was a child who just apologized for something wrong he has done. That only caused the tears in Romano's eyes to sting more and he quickly shook his head, saying "No" and "That's not it".

"That's not all… After that, I was not able to taste anything right… No, not like it became weird… It just disappeared. I couldn't taste anything. Then I was not able to tell the difference between hot and cold. Afterwards, I also found out I didn't feel pain even when I cut my finger with a knife…! And then, now I also can't sleep at all at night…" The tears finally flowed down his cheeks, and his shoulders shook each time he spoke, taking deep breaths between them to keep up his words. "I… I haven't slept in three whole days now. But I still don't feel tired at all."

The hand that was patting Romano's head stopped immediately.

"Veneziano got sick… He got a cold, and a high fever… And I am supposed to get it immediately too with him, but I don't feel it at all. I actually feel quite healthy… That's not right, is it…? I'm Italy too, but…"

"Romano…"

"I was scared, but no one would understand what I was going through anyway. I read several books but they said nothing about this… Then I was able to talk to Prussia and China, and they said they were able to think of one thing that could cause this…"

Romano raised his arm and wiped the tears violently from his eyes, but they wouldn't stop coming. Spain hadn't said another word; he silently listened, his hand still on Romano's hand and another on his head. Romano was unable to look up to see Spain's expression.

"Do you know the Holy Roman Empire?"

"…Si."

"They said… He was like me, too. His senses disappeared one by one, and in the end he ceased to exist... That's what Prussia told me. China also said he only heard of such symptoms when a country was going to disappear. And that… He doesn't know how to avoid it from happening…"

Romano felt his hand be squeezed tighter. The strength only brought more tears in his eyes, and they continued to flow as if they never knew how to stop.

"Spain…"

Finally, Romano looked fully up to Spain. He must have looked pathetic with the tears messing up his face. His vision was blurred as if he was opening his eyes underwater, so he was unable to pick up Spain's expression, but the faint green told him that they were looking at one another for sure. "…Am I going to disappear?"

Just as he was able to squeeze out those final words, Romano felt something push him down onto the bed. He then was squeezed tightly, the heavy mass wrapping around his body. Romano too wrapped his limbs around the figure with all his might.

"…You're lying, right?"

Spain questioned with a trembling voice. Even Romano, who had been by Spain's side for what seemed like forever, didn't know that Spain could manage out such voice.

"I'm not lying…"

"You're lying."

"…I'm… Not lying…"

"Why…?" Romano felt something on the back of his neck, like something tickling him. It took him a bit to realize that it was Spain's tears. "Why does it have to be you…?"

Romano never knew Spain was capable of this part in emotion. The Spain that Romano had always imagined on the mention of his name was a smiling man, always under the sun and cheerful.

He wanted to tell Spain to not cry, but the male was squeezed so tightly that he was incapable of speaking words. The only voice that Romano heard in the room was Spain's as he repeatedly asked why and sobbed into his shoulder.

"…I'm sorry."

He was able to at least manage out those words.

_Sorry for making you sad. Sorry for making you suffer. Sorry for meeting you._

_-Sorry for falling in love with you._

* * *

Long after the two men lost track of time, Romano was finally released from Spain's grasp. As if to go with it, Romano too slowly unwrapped himself from Spain's body. The two looked at each other and after registering one another's faces into their eyes, smiled softly, almost as if in attempts to lighten up the mood.

"…You look horrible."

"Romano, you're a mess too."

"Stop talking, you're worse."

Laughing softly at each other, Spain leaned in and gave Romano a kiss. The younger felt something enter his mouth, and though he was unable to actually taste it, he figured it would be very salty with all the tears they had cried out. When Spain finally pulled away, Romano sighed.

"Well, that's good…"

"What's good? You're going to become nonexistent."

"Mhm, but I'm still here, aren't I?"

"…When are you going to disappear?"

Romano shook his head in response. "I don't know. It could be a year later, or even tonight. There's really no telling."

"Ah…" Spain looked disappointed, but there was nothing Romano could really say to that. He honestly didn't know. "Well then… Until you disappear, why don't we live together?"

Romano was at lost of words at first. He simply asked a small "huh?" as if to make sure he heard it right, and the Spaniard smiled and repeated without a fuss.

"I said, let's live together. Like when you were a kid." Their hands were yet again held in each other's. "I want to stay with you."

Unable to produce words, Romano could only nod. As Spain watched, Romano kept nodding repeatedly, ignoring the tears that started to build up in his eyes yet again. At that, Spain pulled his lover into his arms into a secure hug once more.

"…Does anybody else know about this?"

"Well…" Romano started, closing his eyes as he tried to feel the warmth of Spain's body. The attempt failed miserably. "Prussia knows… And Germany probably does as well. I think China and Japan noticed, too…"

"You haven't told Italy yet?"

Romano shook his head. Telling his brother would require just as much courage as it required to tell Spain, especially at this time. They were together as one; if Veneziano found out that one half had been suffering this whole time, he would have most likely break down into tears as well. And then there was that whole thing with the Holy Roman Empire…

"I want you to go back to Italy tomorrow and tell your brother honestly." Spain said, trying to not sound too stern but wanting to make sure Romano knew he meant it. Romano opened his eyes slowly and stayed in silence. Taking the silence as agreement, Spain curled up around Romano's body and held him into a tight embrace once more.

"…I will come and get you, I promise."

* * *

**A/N: I think we're about half way through the story, I don't plan to make this one super long. R&R please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The news of Romano's discovery was not going to be kept a secret to the world.

After spending one night with Spain at the hotel, Romano went back to his homeland the next morning and told Veneziano what he knew. In the room was also Germany, who was visiting the house to check on Veneziano while Romano was out, and when Veneziano gave a dry laugh and said that Romano was being mean again, he placed a hand on his friend's shoulder gently.

"You're lying…" Veneziano squeezed out his voice and watched Romano shake his head slowly. At that, he finally raised his voice hysterically, tears filling his eyes. "But… You and I are Italy together! Why is fratello… Why are you leaving me too!?"

It didn't take long for Veneziano's voice to start struggling with his words. Soon he seemed to give up and started screaming. Germany gently patted Veneziano's back in hopes to comfort him, then pulled him into an embrace, allowing the brunette to cry into his chest. Germany didn't cry, but his eyes showed the same pained expression as he glanced up to look at Romano. He didn't need to say anything; Romano knew what Germany was asking. Why was it Romano that had to disappear?

"I'm sorry."

Hearing Romano apologize, Veneziano cried louder than before.

_No, don't go, fratello, no, why…_

Romano bit his lip as he heard his brother repeat the words over and over in his cries. He felt as he was about to cry as well, but he bit his lips tightly, fighting the tears that were teasing their way into his eyes. Instead, he muttered "Sorry," each time his brother voiced one of the words, only being able to glare to the floor as if it was going to suddenly cause everything to change around him. After enough time, Veneziano soon stopped screaming in his sobs and looked straight at Romano with the eyes that leaked with large droplets of tears. As if he would be able to look right through a lie that his brother would possibly be telling him, he stared in the hazel hues with his own amber. Romano stared right back, unable to produce words that would explain it more than being able to just show his younger sibling that he was indeed telling the truth by doing so. There was a long silence between the brothers, and Veneziano soon scrunched up his face once more when Romano didn't change his own expression.

"Why…?" The knuckles on Veneziano's hands paled to white as he gripped onto his own pants. "Why am I always the one being left behind…?"

Romano imagined the current image that his brother had in his mind; the image of a young blonde boy in black and gold, but he couldn't really find the exact emotions his brother had in his heart. He wasn't ever really close to the young country and thus, couldn't remember how he looked exactly. So instead, he turned his attention to Germany, who tried to sooth his friend by rubbing circles onto Veneziano's back. After he figured his brother was in safe hands in case of another mental breakdown that could come any moment, he took a small breath before speaking.

"…I'm going to our boss… I need to tell him about this."

"I'll go with you," Germany spoke up suddenly, "I can't trust you walking out on your own right now."

Romano turned his attention to the German nation once more. The blue eyes that usually filled with anger or impatience were now swirled with emotions of compassion and worry. Romano couldn't help but to let out a small laugh at the change.

"Idiot, you stay here and watch Veneziano for me."

"I'll go too! Fratello, take me too!"

"What the hell are you talking about? You're finally getting better; if you push yourself you'll go right back to being sick. Then I'll have to do your weight of work as well…" Romano stood up, put a hand on his waist, and glanced to his brother. "If I did your portion, I wouldn't be able to go to Spain's place…"

Hearing Spain's name, Veneziano's eyes widened immediately. His honey-colored hues sparked in the light from his tears. "Does big brother Spain know about this?"

"Yeah."

"…What did he say?"

Romano took a deep breath, remembering Spain's reaction from the night before, and closed his eyes. "He was crying, just like you." Possibly more… He might've been more heartbroken at the situation… "But he understood."

Veneziano dropped his eyes to the bed's sheets upon hearing that, slowly muttering a tiny "Oh…" before looking up to his brother once more. He tried to force a bright smile on his face, but the tears got in the way of that attempt, his lips twitching struggling to keep the fake posture. Seeing that, Romano gave a tiny chuckle.

"You look horrible." He reached out and pinched Veneziano's cheeks.

"Hehe, fwatewo, that huwts.."

As Veneziano laughed with tears still flowing from his eyes, Romano too, felt a tear roll down his cheek.

* * *

Romano let out a tired sigh once he was out his boss's room. His boss didn't cry like Spain and Veneziano did, but he didn't seem to believe Romano to begin with, either. He kept asking if he was telling the truth, and each time, Romano patiently told him that he was not lying. After several minutes that seemed like hours, his boss finally seemed to accept it and mutter out, "I see…" before continuing, "Do you know when…?"

"No, sir… It could be a year later, or it could be tonight. I really don't know, but I sense that it won't be long…"

"…Alright."

"And… So I want to ask a favor…" Romano watched as his boss slowly nodded, motioning for him to continue in silence. Romano swallowed the nervous lump in his throat, feeling the saliva travel down. "…I wanted to see if it was possible for me to get less work for the rest of my time…"

"Explain?"

"I want to make some memories… Well, it sounds weird if I say that, but I want to clean up around myself before I leave… Talk to friends, write out some notes, things like that… I understand that I can't avoid all my work, but I was just wondering if it was possible for me to get less…"

Would he be asked of how foolish he was? Suddenly feeling that his request was one that was childish, Romano shifted his gaze to the window, unable to meet his boss's. The bright sun shone in his vision, causing him to narrow his eyes slightly in hopes to block it out.

"I understand."

Romano, unable to comprehend the answer at first, was unable to immediately answer back when his boss gave the answer to his request. "I'll only send the minimum to your way."

"…Are you sure?"

"Don't ask me that. You're the one who requested it. Or are you saying you will be able to do all the work I send your way as you have been doing so?"

"No, but…"

Seeing Romano struggle with his words, the man slowly smiled and entwined his fingers, resting his elbows on his desk. "I owe you at least this much for protecting this country for so many years." He closed his eyes slowly, "Thank you."

The words filled his heart. Not knowing what to say, Romano just gave a small nod, tears blurring his vision once again. Trying to refocus his attention to something else, he sidetracked his thoughts to wondering why he doesn't become mummified for crying so much in such a short time frame, causing his brows to furrow slightly in thought. Seeing that, the man in front of him gave a small laugh.

The news of Romano's situation went across the world from Romano's boss telling the others.

After the news went out, Romano's cell phone rung continually. When he couldn't pick up due to already talking to one, the nations then would call the house phone or Veneziano's cell phone. The once quiet Italians' house was now loud with constant talking and phone ringing. Romano and Veneziano each decided to work on their own phones and asked for Germany to take care of the house phone since he was still staying in the house for now. Even Veneziano, who had cried so loudly that one would think he would lose his voice for good when Romano told him he was disappearing, stopped crying with all the phone calls and having to explain what was going on and confirming that the news was real. After the thirteenth call on his phone, he even managed to give an exhausted laugh. "It's like we're having a festival…"

All the calls were the same, they all asked if what they heard about Romano was true. If told yes, they all would say "You're lying…" or "You're joking, right…?" When told no, some would begin crying, while others would still say "I can't believe it!" or "That can't be true!"

It took several hours until silence once more filled the house. The last one to hang up his phone was Romano. The call was from Austria, who knew the Italian ever since he was a child. It seemed Hungary was also nearby, and each time Austria lost his words, Romano heard sniffling in the background, and every time it clenched Romano's heart tightly, making his chest slightly painful.

"…Come by soon."

Austria finally managed at last, and Romano only answered in the end with "Will do."

* * *

The sun already set and soon wind began to tap on the glass window. Listening to it, Romano turned to Veneziano and Germany.

"Sorry about all the trouble."

"What are you saying, fratello? It wasn't trouble at all."

"Ja, don't worry about it."

Veneziano and Germany were so kind. Romano figured he wouldn't have to worry about his brother after disappearing if Germany stayed by Veneziano's side, and with that in mind, Romano took his phone once more and began to tap the buttons. Veneziano, watching it, whimpered almost silently.

"…Are you going to big brother Spain's…?"

Romano gave a small nod at his brother's question. "Si. I was asked to live with him again."

"…Oh." Veneziano's expression clouded over, but he quickly asked right after, "Can I go and see you at big brother Spain's house from time to time?"

"Come whenever you want. I'll be waiting."

Hearing his brother's answer, Veneziano gave a relieved smile. After returning the same smile to him, Romano selected Spain's name from his contacts list. The ringing was heard on the other side of the line and after a few, Spain's voice answered. Romano paused momentarily, hesitating to say so, but soon managed to squeeze his voice out.

"It's done."

Hearing only two words, as if Spain understood everything with it, he answered with "Alright," and followed it with "To tell you the truth, I'm in Italy right now. I'll go pick you up now."

The call only lasted a few seconds. As Romano hung up the phone and put it in his pocket, he felt Germany's stare on the back of his head. He turned around, wondering what it was all about, when Germany asked hesitantly, "Is he coming?" and Romano gave a small nod.

"When Spain comes, I'm leaving…"

"Well, it's actually a bit late already tonight…" Veneziano spoke, his voice barely above a whisper once more, "How about you and him stay here for the night and leave tomorrow?"

"But…" Just as Romano was about to respond, the trio was quieted with the sound of the ringing doorbell. They all faced the door then back to one another, just as the sound rang through the house once more. With a sigh, Romano headed for the front door. "That was way too damned fast."

"Hehe… To tell you the truth, I was already here waiting for your call." The Spaniard said with a small laugh when Romano opened the door.

"Idiot, your nose is bright red."

"It was so cold!" Spain whimpered. He walked into the house without hesitation and used his gloved hands to slowly begin to unwrap the scarf from his neck.

"Veneziano said it's late and offered for us to stay the night."

"Really? Well, then I think I would like to do that… I haven't seen him in a long time, too!"

Romano raised his brow and closed the door behind Spain. As he watched Spain shiver in the warmth, the Spaniard blinked and smiled brightly. "I just wanted to be with you, anyway. I don't care whether it's at your place or at mine." As Romano nodded, Spain welcomed himself into the living room, opening the door with ease. Romano followed in after him. "Italy? You in here?"

"Big brother Spain…" The response came, soft. Veneziano didn't know whether he should be happy to see Spain after a long time, or if he should feel saddened about the situation they were in to begin with for them to see each other.

"Haven't seen you in a while, Italy…" Spain replied with his own voice just as soft as the younger nation's. Hearing that, Veneziano couldn't help but to give the tanned male a saddened smile.

* * *

He just couldn't get comfortable.

When Romano and Spain got into the single bed together, that was Romano's first problem. Beside him, Spain was already fast asleep, snoring lightly. As Romano watched the Spanish nation sleep, he felt something warm spreading in his chest. Spain attempted to stay awake for the sake of Romano, who was unable to sleep by now at all, but after Romano tried everything he knew of that could lure one to sleep, he finally gave in. The kindness itself was enough to make Romano feel happy; he didn't need the other to actually really stay up for it at all. With a small smile on his face, he leaned in and gave a small peck on Spain's lips gently.

Romano knew his senses were almost fully gone. He wasn't sure he if he could even have sex with the man in bed with him. It was hard to even ask, knowing that it might be impossible.

"…I don't know if we can do it, but do you want to try?"

For the first time in their entire relationship, Romano was the one who asked about it first when they climbed into bed. When he did, Spain's eyes glazed over with worry, and he muttered to himself, "But…"

"It's okay…"

"…Are you sure?"

"If I can't do it, I apologize beforehand…"

"I won't get mad."

The two looked each other in the eyes and pressed their lips together. Though the kiss got deeper, Romano didn't feel his body heating up from its affect as it used to. In fact, he couldn't seem to get any heat in his body ready to continue, and it caused him to tilt his head in worry.

Spain slipped his hand under Romano's shirt and slowly moved up. The fingers danced against the skin, rubbing and finding its way to Romano's ticklish spot. Even when Spain attempted to give the other a teasing tickle, Romano's body didn't react one bit.

"This is just weird…" The one who laughed about it first was Spain. "You're warm and soft, but it's like you're not here at all."

Romano silently reached for Spain's hand and pulled it out from his shirt, then guided it to his head. Spain allowed his fingers to tangle with the brown locks, occasionally sliding his fingers to the stranded curl as well. Romano however didn't make a sound or give any reaction to it.

"Did your skills drop?" Romano smirked, trying to hide his fear.

"Romano, that's mean!" Spain pouted and dropped his hand to his lap, frowning. The two looked at each other and finally chuckled, giving up and laying in bed instead, holding each other's hands.

* * *

**Ok, I have 2 things to apologize about xD**

**First, I'm sorry this chapter took FOREVER to get uploaded! I've had a terrible writer's block and didn't want to mess up the story by forcing myself to write lame. Second, I'm sorry the length of this chapter is short compared to the others! Dx I thought it was a good part to cut it off, seeing I wanted to upload it as soon as possible as well... I think the next chapter will be a bit longer than this again... xAx Bare with me please...**

**OH AND**

**Review, please! Those keep me going with my stories! ^_^**


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